Loom shuttle

ABSTRACT

A loom shuttle is provided which has a flat rearward wall which extends the entire length of the shuttle, a forward wall which is substantially shorter than the rearward wall and end sections which connect the forward and rearward walls. The end sections are of a generally truncated pyramidal configuration with the surfaces thereof sloping toward the terminal ends of the rearward wall. The end sections are truncated immediately adjacent the terminal ends to provide a surface for picker contact. The configuration of the end sections assist the guiding and rethreading of the shuttle. The shuttles of the present invention are especially useful in high-speed multibox looms.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Herman J. Kerner Albermarle; John H. Cresswell, Charlotte, both of N.C. [21] Appl. No. 884,884 [22] Filed Dec. 15, 1969 [45] Patented Jan. 4, 1972 [73] Assignee Collins 8: Aikman Corporation New York, N.Y. Continuation-impart of applimtion Ser. No. 775,707, Nov. 18, 1968, now abandoned. This application Dec. 15, 1969, Ser. No. 884,884

[54] LOOM SHUTTLE 6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 139/196, 139/ 160 [51] Int. (I D03] 5/00 [50] Field of Search 13911 96-198, 160, 159

[56] 7 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 372,239 10/l8 87 Root ..u l 39/19 6 2,205,025 6/1940 Balfour 139/196 A Primary Examiner-James Kee Chi Attomey-Paul & Paul ABSTRACT: A loom shuttle is provided which has a flat rearward wall which extends the entire length of the shuttle, a forward wall which is substantially shorter than the rearward wall and end sections which connect the forward and rearward walls. The end sections are of a generally truncated pyramidal configuration with the surfaces thereof sloping toward the ter* minal ends of the rearward wall. The end sections are truncated immediately adjacent the terminal ends to provide a surface for picker contact. The configuration of the end sections assist the guiding and rethreading of the shuttle. The shuttles of the present invention are especially useful in high-speed rnultibox looms.

SHEET 1 [1F 2 PATENIED J 4 I972 mam. o m w W J C f N m mm 8 ATTORNEYS.

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(PRIOR ART) Fig. 5

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(PRIOR ART) INVENTORS- Hermon J. Kerner John H. Cresswell ATTORNEYS.

LOOM SHUTTLE CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 775 ,707, filed Nov. 18, 1968 now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention is concerned with loom shuttles. More particularly this invention is concerned with loom shuttles for use in high-speed multibox looms.

2. Description of the Prior Art Loom shuttles are used to carry the filling yam across the warp yarns in weaving to make the'fabric. The shape of the shuttle is rather important, since the shape to some extent controls the flight characteristics of the shuttle. In handweaving and relatively low-speed power-weaving, the shuttles employed generally have conical ends. The flat rearward wall of the conical end shuttles is substantially shorter than the total length of the shuttle. This type shuttle performs reasonably well at low speeds. However, in order to lower the labor costs and to increase production, the speeds of power looms have been substantially increased in recent years. Unfortunately, the conical-end shuttles have proven to be unsuitable for use at the higher speeds. At higher speeds, the shed is changed rapidly to increase the speed of weaving. Accordingly, if the shuttle is picked, either too early or too late, or at a slight angle, there is a greater chance of contact with the reed or warp yarns. The conical-end shuttles are especially poor under these high-speed conditions since if the tip of the shuttle does contact either the reed or the warp yarns, the shuttle tends to rock on its conical ends and chatter across the shed. This causes damage to the reed, shortens the useful life of the shuttles and often causes defects in the woven goods.

In order to improve the stability of the shuttles, it was suggested in the art to lengthen the rearward wall of the shuttles. Various methods were suggested, such as simply extending the rearward wall of the shuttle or providing metal extension loops on the ends of the shuttles. Typical of these types of shuttles are the shuttles disclosed by H. Gotz, US. Pat. No. 3,326,245. The extensions on the rearward wall did improve the stability of the shuttles at higher shuttle speeds, but also introduced new problems. Power looms had to be substantially modified to accommodate the new shuttles. As a result of extending rearward walls, the areas of the shuttle contacted by the picker were moved inwardly relative to the tip of the shuttle. This required the use of pickers having extensions in order to contact the recesed striking areas of the modified shuttles. This change in pickers was a slight problem on the simpler single-box looms because of the limited length of travel of the picker arm. However, by allowing a portion of the picker to extend into the box portion of the loom, the extended pickers could be accommodated in a single-box loom. The problems encountered with the multibox looms, using the extended rearward wall shuttles were considerably more complex. In a multibox loom, the boxes must be free to move in the vertical direction between picks. Accordingly, it was not possible to allow a portion of the extension on the picker to remain in the box between picks as it would prevent the vertical movement of the boxes. To change the multiple-box looms to accommodate the modified shuttles having an extended rearward wall, required a major rebuilding of the looms so as to increase the stroke of the picker arm. The rebuilding of the looms cost a substantial amount of money and the longer stroke required more time and energy.

A further problem of the prior art shuttles having extended rearward walls, was that they had relatively poor aerodynamic properties. Because of the relatively blunt ends of the prior art shuttles, it required additional power to propel the shuttles across the shed. Since the energy required to propel the shuttles consumes almost all of the energy required in weaving, the extra force required was reflected as a substantial increase in the power cost for production of the fabrics.

A further problem encountered with the prior art shuttles, was that the shuttles tended to misthread on the second pick after the bobbins were automatically changed. This problem of misthreading caused considerable delays in production and defects in the fabrics.

Various modifications of the shuttles of the type disclosed by Gotz were made such as making the picker-striking surfaces flat and somewhat streamlining the shape of the end sections. These modified shuttles were at best only slightly better than the Gotz shuttle. They also tended to misthread on the second pick. The power consumption was somewhat reduced but was still quite high. Even more important, however, these shuttles still could not be employed in multibox looms unless the loom was almost completely rebuilt, which in most cases was impractical.

It is an object of this invention to overcome the aforementioned and difiiculties encountered with the prior art shuttles.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide shuttles having improved stability and rethreading properties.

It is still further object of this invention to provide a shuttle for high-speed weaving having improved flight characteristics.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a stabilized shuttle for high-speed weaving which can be used in conventional multibox looms with a minimum of modification of the looms.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become further apparent in the drawings and specifications and subjoined claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The objects of this invention have been achieved by providing a shuttle having a flat rearward wall which extends the entire length of the shuttle, a forward wall which is shorter than the rearward wall and end sections which connect the rearward and forward walls. The end sections are of a generally truncated, pyramidal configuration with the faces thereof sloping rearwardly towards the terminal ends of the rearward wall. The end sections are truncated adjacent the terminal ends of the shuttle at a point below that at which a yarn guided by the yarn guide of the shuttle on first pick passes out of contact with the upper face of the end section adjacent the guide means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an illustration of the top plan view of a shuttle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the side plan view of one end of the shuttle of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of the end of the shuttle of the present invention shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a top plan illustration of an end portion of a conical-end shuttle of the prior art in a shuttle box with a picker.

FIG. 5 is a top plan illustration of an end portion of a prior art shuttle having an extended rearward wall in a shuttle box with a picker.

FIG. 6 is a top plan illustration of an end portion of an additional prior art shuttle having an extended rearward wall in a shuttle box with a picker.

FIG. 7 is a top plan illustration of a shuttle of the present invention in a shuttle box with a picker.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The shuttle of the present invention 10 has a rearward wall 12 which extends the entire length of the shuttle 10. The rearward wall 12 is tapered to points at its terminal ends 14, 16 and advantageously has metal tips 18 and 20. The shuttle 10 has a forward wall 22 which is substantially shorter than the rearward wall 12. The forward wall 22 is spaced from a central portion of the rearward wall 12. End portions 24, 26 connect the forward and rearward walls 12, 22. The rearward wall 12, the forward wall 22 and the end portions 24, 26 form an integral unit having an interior cavity 28. A holding means 30 is secured to one of the end portions 24 and is adapted to hold a yarn supply 32 which is wound on a bobbin 34 in the cavity 28. At the opposite end portion 26 there is a self-threading yarn guide means 36 of conventional design which is adapted to guide a yarn 38 on first pick along a predetermined path across the upper surface 40 of the end portion 26 and on second pick to thread the yarn 38 into a yarn guide means 42 on the side of the shuttle 10 for subsequent picking.

The end portions 24, 26 are of a generally truncated pyramidal configuration. The end portions 24, 26 are substantially identical to each other in configuration except that one end portion 24 is adapted to receive the yarn-holding means 30 and the other is adapted to receive the yarn-guiding means 36, 42 with appropriate changes being made in their cd'nfiguration for this purpose.

The most rearward face 44 is continuous with the rearward wall 12. The remaining faces 40, 46, 48 slope towards the terminal ends l4, 16 of the rearward wall 12. The end sections 24, 26 are truncated at a point almost but not quite at the tips l4, 16 of the rearward wall 12 to provide a fiat striking surface 50 for the picker. The end portion 26 is truncated at approximately a point where the yarn 38 guided by the means'36 on first pick crosses the edge 52 formed by the upper face 40 and the side face 46. It should be noted that the area of the striking face 50 is relatively small and substantially all or all of the area is rearward of the center point of the end portion of the shuttle.

All of the exposed edges of the walls 12, 22 and end portions 24, 26 are rounded and smooth so as to facilitate the passage of the shuttle 10 through the shed and to prevent yarn from being caught by edges of the shuttle 10. Accordingly, when employing the term pyramidal in this application, this is intended to read on pyramidal structures having curved edged portions and is not intended to be strictly construed as having sharp edges as in the classic pyramid. The relatively flat faces 40, 46, 48 give the optimum results with the shuttles of the present invention as will be explained in greater detail below. However, it should be appreciated that these faces could be more rounded than that shown and that the end portions 24, 26 could be almost of a semiconical in configuration. These types of shuttles are likewise included within the scope of the present invention.

The above-described configuration imparts certain advantageous properties to the shuttles 10 of this invention. The extended rearward wall 12 substantially improves the stability of the shuttles l and prevents chattering. The face 46, because of the rearward slope from the striking face 50 tends to urge and hold the shuttle in the proper position relative to the reed and warp. The other faces 40, 48 of the end portion 24, 26 likewise because of their slope towards the centerline of the shuttle and toward the terminal ends of the rearward wall aerodynamically guide the shuttle in a truer flight across the shed.

The truncating of the end sections at the point described above is one of the more important features of the present invention. Because almost all of the area of the striking surface 50 is half of the shuttle adjacent, the rearward wall 12, the leading edges can be more tapered than what was possible with the prior art shuttles. This reduces substantially the possibility of the shuttle contacting the warp yarns when the shuttle is thrown early or late. The striking surface 50, as illustrated, have the preferred flat configuration. However, this surface could likewise be somewhat rounded. The reduced size of the striking area 50 and the more streamlined configuration of the end portions 24, 26 substantially reduces the energy required to throw the shuttle across the shed and thereby reduces the production cost of fabrics.

A very important advantage of the shuttles of the present invention is that they have improved rethreading properties. In power-weaving looms sensing means is provided to determine the amount of yarn remaining on a bobbin in a shuttle. When this apparatus senses that the bobbin is about to run out of yarn, a full bobbin is automatically inserted into the yam-holding means 30. The yarn 38 is then automatically fed through the guide means 36. On the first pick, this yarn is fed through the guide along the upper surface 40 of the shuttle. On the second pick this yarn should automatically feed about the shuttle and into the yarn guide 42 on the side of the shuttle so that in subsequent picks the yarn will be guided along the sides of the shuttle. In the shuttles suggested in the prior art, the yarn was guided from the yarn guide through a slot cut into the shuttle and had almost no contact with the surface of the shuttle. This method of guiding the yarn on the first and second pick was relatively satisfactory at the slower speeds. However, at the higher speeds, because the yarn was floating free at the end of the shuttle particularly in the shuttles having the ex tended tips, there was a greater tendency for the yarn to be caught in the air currents created by the high speed of the shuttle and to float erratically. This, in turn, it is believed caused a considerable amount of the misthreading problems encountered with the prior art shuttles. In the shuttles of the present invention, it should be noted that the upper surface 40 is considerably extended and that the movement of the yarn 38 is restricted by this extended upper surface. The yarn is guided from the yarn guide to; the point where the end section 26 is truncated at which point the yarn goes out of contact with the guiding surface 46. The surface 40 beingfiat guides the yarn and prevents it from flying about on the first pick, The yam 38 slides across the sloping surface of the face 40 into the proper position on the second pick for rethreading.

A still further advantage of the present invention is that the shuttle 10 of the present invention can be employed in a multibox loom without substantial modification of the loom. It can be seen in FIG. 4 that using a conventional prior art conicalend shuttle 54 that the picker 56 can be driven into the box 58 so as to throw the shuttle across the shed and retracted to the position shown in phantom 60. When the picker 56 is in this position 60, the box 58 is free to move in the vertical direction. The conical-end shuttle 54 are, as noted above, unsuitable for use in high-speed multibox looms. However, when a shuttle 62 of the type disclosed by Gotz was employed, the picker 64 had to have an extension 66 in order to reach the striking surface 68 of the shuttle 62. When the picker 64 was returned to the starting position 70 shown in phantom, the extension 66 did not clear the edges of the box 68. This prevented the vertical movement of the boxes in the multibox loom. Modification of the Gotz shuttle 62 did not overcome this problem of the Gotz shuttle 62. These modified shuttles 72 required the use of a picker 74 having a similar extension 76. This picker 74, when returned to the starting position 78 noted in phantom, did not clear the edge of the box 80. Accordingly, the modified shuttles 72 were not suitable for use in multibox looms. It can be seen, however, that the shuttle of the present invention can be used in a multibox loom without substantial modification of the loom. The only modification required is the replacement of the picker 56 used for the conical-end shuttle 54 with a modified picker 82 adapted to accommodate the end of the shuttle of this invention 10. Because the striking surface 50 is adjacent the end of the shuttle, the picker 82 can be retracted similar to the pickers employed with the conical-end shuttles to a position 84 shown in phantom wherein the picker will clear the edge of the box 86. Accordingly, the shuttle of the present invention 10 can be employed in a multibox loom without any substantial modification of the loom other than replacement of the picker mechanism.

It should be appreciated that the shuttles of the present invention can be made of various materials. For example, the shuttles can be made of wood or a combination of wood and plastic or combinations of other materials. It is the general configuration of the present invention which are the critical features of this invention. These include primarily the extended rearward wall which improves the stability of the shuttle and the generally pyramidal truncated end sections 24, 26 which improve the flight characteristics rethreading properties and permit the use of the shuttle of the present invention in high-speed multibox looms.

What is claimed is:

l. A shuttle for use with a multibox loom in which the picker travels a limited distance and must clear the boxes of the loom between picks in order for the boxes to move said shuttle being comprised of: a rearward wall which extends the entire length of the shuttle and is tapered to points at its opposite terminal ends; a forward wall which is substantially shorter than the rearward wall and is spaced forwardly from a central portion of the rearward wall; and first and second end members which are adjacent opposite ends of the shuttle connecting the forward and rearward walls, said end member being tapered from the forward wall toward the terminal ends of the rearward wall and being truncated a given length from the tenninal ends to provide striking areas for picker contact immediately adjacent the terminal ends, said given length being the length at which the picker will both contact said striking areas and clear said boxes when traveling said limited distance.

2. The shuttle according to claim 1 wherein said end members are of a truncated pyramidal configuration.

3. The shuttle according to claim 1 wherein said striking areas are flat and normal to the rearward wall.

4. A loom shuttle comprised of a flat rearward wall extending the entire length of the shuttle which is tapered to points at opposite terminal ends of the shuttle; a forward wall which is substantially shorter than the rearward wall and which is spaced forwardly from a central portion of the rearward wall with the terminal ends thereof being about equally distant from adjacent terminal ends of the rearward wall; first and second end members adjacent opposite terminal ends of the shuttle connecting the forward and rearward walls to form a shuttle body having an internal yam-holding cavity; and a yarn guide means which is positioned related to the first end so as to guide a yarn received from a yarn supply held in the yamholding cavity in a predetermined path over said first end member on first pick, said end members being of a similar truncated pyramidal configuration, each end member having a rearward face, a forward face and upper and lower faces, said rearward faces being continuous with said rearward wall, said forward faces extending rearwardly from opposite terminal ends of the forward wall towards the adjacent terminal ends of the rearward wall, said upper faces sloping downwardly from said rearward wall to the forward faces and said lower faces sloping upwardly from said rearward wall to said forward face, said first and second end members being truncated a given distance from the terminal ends of said shuttle to provide striking areas immediately adjacent each 0 the terminal ends of said shuttle for picker contact, said given distance being about the distance from the tenninal end of the shuttle adjacent said first end member wherein a yarn on first pick guided by said guide means intersects the plane of the forward face of said first end member whereby a shuttle is obtained having improved aerodynamic flight properties in which the yarn on the first pick is guided and supported by said upper face to a point immediately adjacent terminal ends of the shuttle and whereby a shuttle is provided having a picker striking area immediately adjacent the terminal ends of the shuttle which can be used in a multibox loom.

5. The shuttle according to claim 4 wherein the striking area is substantially flat.

6. The shuttle according to claim 4 wherein the yarn guide guides the yarn on first pick along the central axis of the shuttle and wherein substantially all of the striking area is in the rearward half of the shuttle adjacent and normal to the rearward wall.

* i it 

1. A shuttle for use with a multibox loom in which the picker travels a limited distance and must clear the boxes of the loom between picks in order for the boxes to move said shuttle being comprised of: a rearward wall which extends the entire length of the shuttle and is tapered to points at its opposite terminal ends; a forward wall which is substantially shorter than the rearward wall and is spaced forwardly from a central portion of the rearward wall; and first and second end members which are adjacent opposite ends of the shuttle connecting the forward and rearward walls, said end member being tapered from the forward wall toward the terminal ends of the rearward wall and being truncated a given length from the terminal ends to provide striking areas for picker contact immediately adjacent the terminal ends, said given length being the length at which the picker will both contact said striking areas and clear said boxes when traveling said limited distance.
 2. The shuttle according to claim 1 wherein said end members are of a truncated pyramidal configuration.
 3. The shuttle according to claim 1 wherein said striking areas are flat and normal to the rearward wall.
 4. A loom shuttle comprised of a flat rearward wall extending the entire length of the shuttle which is tapered to points at opposite terminal ends of the shuttle; a forward wall which is substantially shorter than the rearward wall and which is spaced forwardly from a central portion of the rearward wall with the terminal ends thereof being about equally distant from adjacent terminal ends of the rearward wall; first and second end members adjacent opposite terminal ends of the shuttle connecting the forward and rearward walls to form a shuttle body having an internal yarn-holding cavity; and a yarn guide means which is positioned related to the first end so as to guide a yarn received from a yarn supply held in the yarn-holding cavity in a predetermined path over said first end memBer on first pick, said end members being of a similar truncated pyramidal configuration, each end member having a rearward face, a forward face and upper and lower faces, said rearward faces being continuous with said rearward wall, said forward faces extending rearwardly from opposite terminal ends of the forward wall towards the adjacent terminal ends of the rearward wall, said upper faces sloping downwardly from said rearward wall to the forward faces and said lower faces sloping upwardly from said rearward wall to said forward face, said first and second end members being truncated a given distance from the terminal ends of said shuttle to provide striking areas immediately adjacent each of the terminal ends of said shuttle for picker contact, said given distance being about the distance from the terminal end of the shuttle adjacent said first end member wherein a yarn on first pick guided by said guide means intersects the plane of the forward face of said first end member whereby a shuttle is obtained having improved aerodynamic flight properties in which the yarn on the first pick is guided and supported by said upper face to a point immediately adjacent terminal ends of the shuttle and whereby a shuttle is provided having a picker striking area immediately adjacent the terminal ends of the shuttle which can be used in a multibox loom.
 5. The shuttle according to claim 4 wherein the striking area is substantially flat.
 6. The shuttle according to claim 4 wherein the yarn guide guides the yarn on first pick along the central axis of the shuttle and wherein substantially all of the striking area is in the rearward half of the shuttle adjacent and normal to the rearward wall. 